Removing Barriers to Progress

1. Removing Barriers to Progress Leicestershire SEN Strategy UpdateNovember 2004

2. Agenda Welcome and Context Christine Cassell (Assistant Director of Education, Access & Inclusion) SEN Strategy Progress Charlie Palmer (Senior Education Officer, SEN & Inclusion) Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership for Leicestershire (CYPSPL) Rob Wade (Service Manager, Disability, Early Years and Family Support, Social Services Department) Austin Kenney (Children’s Strategic Joint Planning Officer) Specialist Community ChildHealth Services (SCCHS): Single point of Access Tony Davis (Business Manager, SCCHS) Area working proposalsin the strategy Charlie Palmer Questions and Discussion

3. Good News! Leicestershire Schools are doing well for Children with Special Educational Needs: • Summary of Inspection Reports shows overwhelming good practice for SEN, Inclusion and Behaviour • Primary Quality of SEN Provision: 82% good or betterSEN Pupil Progress: 71% good or better Inclusion: 74% good or better Behaviour: 85% good or better • Secondary Quality of SEN Provision: 100% good or better SEN Pupil progress: 100% good or better Inclusion: 92% good or better Behaviour: 61% good or better • Local monitoring report indicates good practice in schools • Key stage progress for SEN among the best in the country, by HMI definitions of progress • KS 2- 80% up 2 levels- Leics: 93% • 78% En from 1-3- Leics 90%

4. Children Act: Key Elements • Integrated services - team around the child • Agencies to have responsibility for safeguarding children • Director of Children’s Services • Joint inspection through Joint Area Reviews

5. SEN Strategy Progress

6. Leicestershire: SEN Strategy Process May 2003 Cabinet agree to process to develop SEN Strategy: May/July Data collection, audit of need, involvement of key stakeholders through focus groups and identification of gaps in provision July/August Strategy proposals drafted Sept Draft to Cabinet (30th Sept) Oct- November Formal consultation (including Education Scrutiny) December Results of consultation to Cabinet January 2004 Final strategy to County Council Spring 2004 Work on detailed action plans Summer 2004 Action begins...

7. Key Themes: Leicestershire SEN Strategy • Capacity • BESD and ASD provision: Enhanced Provision in mainstream schools • SEN Delegation • Coherence • Area special schools: redevelop on mainstream sites where possible • Area links between schools to share good practice • Single Point of Access to support services • Confidence • Unified Inset programme • SEN Notional budgets and monitoring arrangements • Headteachers Reps on statement panel

8. SEN Strategy Progress (1) Area Working and Single Point of Access • 5 Areas to match 13-19 strategy and development groups • Pilot work on Admin Post to support co-ordination in Melton • Interagency paper on area working for CYPSPL • Pilot interagency group being established in Melton

9. SEN Strategy Progress (2) Leaderships Courses for SEN Managers in schools • First courses offered in June 04 for SENCO, SEN Governor and Senior Manager • Further courses now available • SENCOs new in post • Monitoring and evaluation of SEN strategies • The role of support staff as managers • Transition planning • Inclusive practice • Wave 3 materials for primary and KS 3 strategies • Statutory assessment • SEN/SENCO Certificate (Univ of Leicester)

10. SEN Strategy Progress (3) Development of arrangements to monitor resources for SEN in schools • Arrangements developed and delivered Summer 04- detailed monitoring for one third of schools per year: • Schools asked to complete financial monitoring report • Parents asked to comment on provision • Lesson observations conducted • Key stage progress of SEN pupils analysis underway • Evaluation report on monitoring being finalised

11. SEN Strategy Progress (4) Unified INSET programme for SEN and Inclusion • Work delayed due to other priorities

12. SEN Strategy Progress (5) Parent information on choice of school for pupils with SEN • Work begun to decide how to collect information about parent choice of out of catchment school

13. SEN Strategy Progress (6) Area working in support services • SENA Case Work Officers organised by SEN Areas • EPS moving to area structure • Educational Assistants in EPS area based • Looked After Children’s Education Service area based

14. SEN Strategy Progress (7) Area Special Schools • Discussions on area provision underway in all areas • New Melton Special School (Birch Wood) open • It is a stunning building • Hinckley- statutory notices about to be published • Other areas considering plans

15. SEN Strategy Progress (8) Developing BESD provision • Innovative model of provision developed in consultation with heads and services: Enhanced Resource Network • Fifteen secondary headteachers have volunteered to develop the plans • Several planning sessions have taken place both with officers and headteachers • Detailed planning now underway- with the aim of starting a pilot in 2005

16. SEN Strategy Progress (9) Developing ASD provision • Model of provision developed with services and voluntary groups (Parent and Carers Council, Leicestershire Autistic Society) • Priority is secondary mainstream unit provision • Additional capacity in Autism Outreach Service being considered

17. SEN Strategy Progress (10) Review of Specialist Teaching Service • Service improving its reporting of work to parent and schools • Internal work on job descriptions • Improved working practices with Health being developed for Children with Hearing Impairment • Improved teaching resources to support pupils with SEN being developed • Service formulating written criteria for assessing the staffing establishment of each Service Team and determining threshold levels of difficulty for service involvement

18. SEN Strategy Progress (11) Changes to Statement Panel • Work completed to: • develop Statement panel procedures • Engage headteachers to support panel work • Start panel work under new procedures

19. Area Working and Single Point of Access Leaderships Courses for SEN Managers in schools Development of arrangements to monitor resources for SEN in schools Unified INSET programme for SEN and Inclusion Parent information on choice of school for pupils with SEN Area working in support services Area Special Schools Developing BESD provision Developing ASD provision Review of Specialist Teaching Service Changes to Statement Panel 5 Areas to match 13-19 strategy and development groups Pilot work on Admin Post to support co-ordination in Melton Interagency paper on area working for CYPSPL Pilot interagency group being established in Melton First courses offered in June 04 for SENCO, SEN Governor and Senior Manager- further courses now available Arrangements developed and delivered Summer 04- detailed monitoring for one third of schools per year Not yet begun Work begun to decide how to collect information about parent choice of out of catchment school SENA Case Work Officers organised by SEN Areas, EPS moving to area structure, Looked After Children’s Ed Service area based Discussions on area provision underway in all areas: New Melton Special School (Birch Wood) open, Hinckley- statutory notices about to be published- other areas still considering plans BESD- Enhanced Resource Network model for BESD provision under development with Headteachers ASD- models of provision developed with services and voluntary groups- priority now for secondary mainstream unit provision STS review leading to better communication of service work with schools and parentsStatement panel redesign completed with headteacher involvement Summary of Progress to Date

20. Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership for Leicestershire (CYPSPL) Rob Wade

21. CYPSPL • Sub group structure to undertake detailed work and widen the membership of the partnership • Disabled Children and SEN is one of the key sub groups of CYPSPL

22. Interagency Co-ordination • Service co-ordination scheme • Family Steps shows that virtual teams can work • Bridges (www.irtbridges.org.uk)

23. Area Based Forums Termly meetings would be established in each area. Special schools may lead these directly, or commission others, for example, from mainstream schools. The main initial purpose of these meetings would be to establish networking systems. • Representatives will be drawn from Education, Health, Social Services, District Council, Voluntary Sector and Parent Carers. Attenders could be people who practice, manage or plan services. A rough estimate is that these meetings could involve upwards of 50 people. • The SEN Strategy proposes that School Development Groups ensure they are each represented in the area forum. • Groups would develop for themselves: • Knowledge of local services • Names of staff working in the area • Shared training events • Problem solving complex issues (not named cases) • Each area would have a county wide voice via relevant groups including the SEN and Disability Sub Group of the Children and Young Persons Strategic Partnership for Leicestershire (CYSPYL)

24. Specialist Community Child Health Services (SCCHS): Modernisation Projects Tony Davis

25. Drivers for Change • National Service Framework for Children • NHS Plan • Every Child Matters / Children’s Bill • Common Assessment Framework • Improving the Health of Looked After Children • Sure Start • Removing the Barriers to Achievement • SEN and Disability Act

26. Modernisation Projects • Single Point of Access (SPA) • Child Health Triage Team • Language Support Team • Mainstream Project • SALT support to Specialist Teaching Service

27. Area Working Proposals in the Strategy

30. We need area working to co-ordinate the complex set of services available How many of these do you know? What could you add? Special Educational Needs Assessment Service Advances Skills Teachers for SEN Specialist Teaching Service including: Learning Support Team, Hearing Impaired service, Visual Impaired Service, Autism Outreach Service, Early Years and SEN Inclusion Team, Advisory Teacher for PD Enhanced Resource Bases being developed for BESD Unit provision for MLD, ASD, Speech and Language Difficulties Social Services Teams: Parent Partnership Service Specialist Community Child Health Services including: Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Diana Nursing Service Area SENCO (primary only) Voluntary sector organisations Specialist Nursery Provisions Youth Offending Service Connexions Service Student Support Service including Primary PRU, Secondary PRUs, Directions Team, Looked after Children’s Education Service, Traveller Education Service, Education Welfare Service Advice and Inspection Service including SEN Inspector and SENCOs Special School outreach and Inclusion support Educational Psychology Service Family Steps Service Early Support Programme Youth Service Leicester Royal Infirmary Services Rationale

31. A Vision for Area Working • 18 development groups too many for liaison other services: 5 SEN areas matching 13-19 Area Partnership Planning Groups, joining 2 or 3 development groups together • One area special school at the heart of each area • The special school has staff and pupil links in and out • SEN staff in the area know one another and who is good at what- they only meet termly but email and telephone contact occurs more frequently • They share ideas, training, and problem solve together, and support one another • They get to know support service staff working in the area • They have a county wide voice as well as a local voice

32. Targeted provision for a few Specialist Out of County Residential School Specialist base with flexible supported integration Additional support in class with some withdrawal Universal provision for all SEN Friendly SchoolsNurturing, Emotionally Safe Mainstream Schools Special Schools

33. Primary Lead SENCO Primary MLD Enhanced Resource Base High/Upper MLD Enhanced Resource Base Named staff from support services (Education, Health and SSD) Enhanced Resource Base for BESD Local Area Special School Area admin post to support SENCOs Access to Specialist Nursery Provision Access to PRUs Access to Advisory Teachers and Advanced Skills Teachers Access to provision for ASD and speech and Language difficulties Each Area Might Have...

34. Questions and Discussion Panel Members: • Christine Cassell, Assistant Director, Access and Inclusion • Charlie Palmer, Senior Education Officer, SEN & Inclusion • Tony Davis, Business Manger, Specialist Child Community Health Services • Rob Wade, (Service Manager, Disability, Early Years and Family Support, Social Services Department) • Austin Kenney, (Children’s Strategic Joint Planning Officer)

35. Conclusion

36. What difference will it make? • Networking between schools and other agencies • Learning outcomes for children • School OFSTED judgements on Inclusion • Value for money • Less bureaucracy around SEN • Sense of real partnership with the LEA- better evaluation in Audit Commission Survey of Schools